After Fighting Nuclear Waste, A Mexican Family's Fight For Survival: The Reyes Salazar Plight

Oct. 1998--Professor Manuel Robles, coordinator of the Binational Coalition Against Toxic Dumps, recognizing Sara Salazar for her family's work in defeating a nuclear waste dump in Texas near the Mexican border.   

On October 22, 1998 a binational coalition of citizens, activists, and political representatives won a major environmental battle over Gov. George W. Bush and the state of Texas when a proposed nuclear waste dump near the Rio Grande and the town of Sierra Blanca, TX was canceled. Thousands of Mexicans took part in the struggle, but one family particularly stood out: the Reyes Salazar family from the town of Guadalupe Distrito Bravos in the rural area downriver from Ciudad Juárez known as the Juárez Valley.  I got to know these friendly and hospitable folks well as I was a field organizer for an El Paso-based environmental organization, and enjoyed visiting them in Guadalupe where I was treated to delicious sweet bread from their family bakery.

Feb. 2011--Sara Salazar at the funeral of her daughter and son, Malena and Elías Reyes Salazar. They had been kidnapped and found murdered two weeks later. Her son Saúl stands behind her to the right.

The Juárez Valley has seen some of the most intense violence in all of Mexico since President Felipe Calderón escalated the drug war in 2006.  The murder rate in Juárez has increased tenfold. After losing four children and other relatives to the violence, Sara Salazar and remaining family fled their beloved home, first to the city of Juárez and then Mexico City. They are hoping to be granted asylum in another country. 

On Aug. 19, 2011 the Mexico City newspaper La Jornada  published an article entitled "The Reyes Family: history of extermination", which stated "the climate of harassment, persecution, and death that has devastated the Reyes Salazar family, who have a history of several decades of social activism which includes opposition to a toxic dump in south Texas, labor struggles against the maquiladora factories in the region, the struggle to shed light on the murder of women in Juárez, and protests against the abuses committed by the military within the context of the militarization of the border." (link to full article at end)


The global war on drugs was launched forty years ago by President Richard Nixon. In a recent editorial in the New York Times, "Call Off The Global Drug War", former president Jimmy Carter endorsed the recommendations by the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former presidents  Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and César Gaviria of Colombia, and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz. The commission's  report opens with the statement, "The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world." Recommendations include substituting treatment for imprisonment and for governments to experiment "with models of legal regulation of drugs...that are designed to undermine the power of organized crime and safeguard the health and security of their citizens." The report cited countries like the Netherlands and Switzerland which have already implemented broad drug policy reform with great success. (link to full report at end)

First a look back at a recent event in Ciudad Juárez where the plight of the Reyes Salazar family was often mentioned:

Mothers holding posters of their disappeared daughters for the arrival of the caravan for peace and justice in Juárez on June 10, 2011.

June has arrived and spring flowers are wilting under the heat.

The University of Juárez looks pretty much 

the same as it did when we organized environmental 

conferences on the campus fifteen years ago. 

A Memorial Wall of Victims 
was placed on the campus mall 

But a new topic dominates the landscape: the violence, the mounting death toll, and the toll it all takes on the living--you can

see it in many faces.

But this was not a day to cry, but a day of outcry. 

"Estamos hasta la madre!" (We've Had It Up To Here) was their theme. The Caravan of Peace and Justice had come to town.

The caravan was led by a poet named Sicilia, a poet who gave up writing poetry after his son was murdered. Not a charismatic leader but it didn't matter; he shared their same pain, the personal loss.

Javier Sicilia speaking at the university of Juárez

The images of two brothers stood out (above): 
Marcos and Jose Luis 

Two of sixteen students were who 

were gunned down at a party last year.
Innocent victims of the nightmare. 

Salvarcar, where they lived and died, was the caravan's first stop.

The tragedy of Salvarcar, the battle cry of Salvarcar.

                                                                     

Mexican journalists at the press conference

The brave journalists of Juárez were present as always.

Reporting about the drug war is risky business. According to Reporters Without Borders, Mexico is now the most dangerous country in the world for journalists. Thirty reporters have been killed since 2006 (7 this year).  

A contingent of folks from the U.S. marched across the bridge from El Paso to join the caravan.

A friend who marched with them took this photo along Juárez's tourist strip--collateral damage from the violence and widespread extortion. Tourists aren't the targets, but they're gone regardless.

Juárez residents marching to the plaza to join the caravan rally  

(photo by Todd Miller/Witness For Peace)

In the late afternoon thousands gathered in the Plaza del Monumento, which has a statute of Mexico's lone indigenous president, Benito Juárez. 

                                                     For Whom the Bell Tolls

left to right: Susana Chavez, Josefina Reyes,
 Marisela Escobedo

Many were remembered:

Susana Chavez, an activist and poet who protested the killings of women and coined the phrase "Ni una muerta mas". Josefina Reyes, who helped defeat the nuclear dump and fought injustice her entire adult life. 

Marisela Escobedo,

murdered while protesting the murder of her daughter.

A peace sign at the rally with the ubiquitous symbol
 for "No More Blood"    (Miller/WFP)

Olga Reyes Salazar speaking at the rally
 (Miller/WFP)
Speaker after speaker told heartbreaking stories of family members disappeared or murdered. At times it almost seemed like a ritual of healing, but anger was also present: at the army, the police, President Calderón, the impunity, Plan Mérida (U.S.
military funding for Mexico). The message from participants was loud and clear--the drug war is a disastrous failure, and "A National Pact For Peace" was drafted to offer a way out of the abyss.

It was a day of intense emotions. There were tears, but smiles and hugs were also plentiful.

The day's events showed that the spirit of struggle in Juárez  is alive and well and that life goes on. That peace and justice are possible, and people are risking their lives to make it happen.

REMEMBERING THE FIGHT AGAINST THE SIERRA BLANCA NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP, AND THE REYES SALAZAR FAMILY WHO PLAYED A MAJOR PART IN THAT STRUGGLE

Ruben Reyes (left) at the trench dug for nuclear waste
in Sierra Blanca, TX

1,200 people marching through Juárez in March 1998 

to protest the proposed nuclear dump in Sierra Blanca

The march through the then peaceful Juárez Valley  Aug. 1998

In August 1998 hundreds of people from the Juárez Valley, Ciudad Juárez, El Paso, and other areas took part in a four day 90 mile march to Sierra Blanca. The first two days the Mexican and U.S. contingents marched separately on opposite sides of the border, but on the third day the two groups merged together for the final two days to Sierra Blanca.

The Mexican contingent crossing the Rio Grande from the Juárez Valley to join marchers on the U.S. side

Meeting U.S. Customs and raising hands to say "We come in peace!" The end of the march for those without papers.

 The arrival of the march in Sierra Blanca, Texas  Aug. 1998

Oct. 12, 1998--Over a thousand Mexican students block five international bridges in Juarez and the Juarez Valley to protest the Sierra Blanca dump.      

 Marching together in Austin, Texas   Oct. 21 1998 

Saúl Reyes speaking at the final rally in Austin

Mexican congressional representatives protesting the dump in Austin, Oct. 1998, where they held a three day fast. Holding the sign is Juarez city council representative Jose Luis Rodriguez who fasted on an international bridge for over 20 days.  At far right is Juarez congressman Carlos Camacho, who was murdered in Juarez in 2008.

All night vigil in Ciudad Juarez Oct. 21, 1998--the day 
before the final decision.

 Guadalupe held its own candlelight vigil on Oct. 21.  Five Reyes Salazar siblings are shown, three of whom were victims of the violence: Malena and Josefina, first and second from left; and Rubén, second from right. Third from left is Eleazar who died from natural causes. Fourth from right is Claudia.

A sing-along around the campfire during the Guadalupe vigil.

Josefina Reyes Salazar
and two sons (far right)

Murdered in Jan. 2010
She founded a human rights
organization in the Juárez Valley
after her son's murder.

Rubén Reyes Salazar--Murdered in Aug. 2010
In addition to his environmental and
     human rights activism,
he and his brothers 
operated a bakery in Guadalupe.

Oct. 22, 1998--The Day of Triumph. Matachines dancers from Guadalupe perform outside the offices of the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission in Austin TX.

U.S. and Mexican dump opponents celebrate in Austin on Oct. 22, 1998. Sara Salazar (dressed in white with right arm raised) is standing in the back row, third from left, next to Texas State Rep. Norma Chavez in the red dress. 

Oct. 23, 1998--the headline of the El Paso Times. Photo shows several of the Matachines dancers from Guadalupe.

Here's a video from the Hobo Dispatch about the Reyes Salazar family's participation in the Sierra Blanca struggle and the disastrous violence that struck their beloved town of Guadalupe, with footage from a visit to Guadalupe in Sept. 2015 which has become a virtual ghost town.

Click on the above video to watch the Story of the Reyes Salazar family.

Oct. 22, 1999--The Diario de Juarez newspaper does an anniversary report on the Sierra Blanca nuclear dump struggle focusing on the valiant efforts of the Reyes Salazar family. Shown here is Sara Salazar at her home in Guadalupe.

In early 2011 the house was set on fire and now sits empty.

click on the link to read:

Famila Reyes: historia de exterminio (La Jornada 8-19-11):

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2011/08/19/index.php?section=opinion&article=002a1edi&partner=rss

Other Links:
Killings Jolt A Family In Mexico (New York Times 2-25-11):

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/world/americas/26mexico.html


Call Off The Global Drug War by Jimmy Carter (N.Y. Times 6-13-11) 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/17/opinion/17carter.html

To read the Global Commission on Drugs report:
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/Report

Photos: Tucson Ethnic Studies Students Rise Up Again and Hold Their Ground

4 p.m.--Belting Out "Woke Up This Morning" Other songs heard, "We Shall Overcome, This Land is Your Land, Native American songs, and Mexican ballads

It's considered the most popular course at Tucson High and the other schools where it is taught and the results have been dramatic. Mexican-American Studies (MAS), as part of the Ethnic Studies Program, has led to impressive results: students are motivated, performance improves, graduation rates go way up.  Now the State of AZ and the local school board (TUSD) are seeking to dismantle the program. The students are fighting back. They have an organization "UNIDOS." A week ago they chained themselves to the school board members chairs preventing a vote to gut MAS. Two of the board members solidly back the students, but the other three don't. Last night the students won another partial victory--their impressive mobilization prevented the board from voting. The struggle goes on.  

In 2006 the students also rose up in Tucson as thousands walked out of class as part of the massive national mobilization protesting anti-immigrant legislation. Years of backlash have followed and Arizona has led the way with the harshest anti-immigrant legislation in the country. The federal government has done its part: last year over 300,000 immigrants were deported, a record number.

5 p.m. The Protest Keeps Growing. Hundreds Outside and More Inside

One speaker compared the School Board's proposal to weaken MAS and satisfy the state to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's appeasement to Adolf Hitler during World War II.. Another speaker said he was thankful for the massive police presence at the meeting because the public needed protection from the "scary" people on the school board. People were arrested just trying to speak. Chicana activist Lupe Castillo was arrested before she could begin reading Martin Luther King's "Letter from the Birmingham Jail."

6 p.m.--The Police Holding The Line

8 p.m. Tensions Mount As People Are Arrested Inside

8:30 p.m A Human Chain Encircles The Building

9:30 p.m. A Peaceful Sit-In In Front of a  Police Car. Students were highly disciplined and completely nonviolent.

10 p.m. The Meeting Ends Without A Vote

A couple of quotes from the Tucson newspaper:

"When prisons are growing and growing and schools are closing, it affects everybody."
Ryan Velasquez, senior, City High School

"These classes have had such an impact on me, I see the world through a critical lens now."
Mayra Feliciano, senior, Rincon High

So will there continue to be a place in Tucson for an educational program that liberates, that inspires, and transforms those who participate?  The powers that be certainly don't want it, but these courageous and inspiring students in Tucson have risen to the occasion for the fight of their life. We all owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

An Inspiring Visit To One Of The World's "Most Dangerous Cities": Ciudad Juárez

View Of Juárez from El Paso, Texas

 Betty and Pedro, who I've known since 1992. They'll take good care of your car  during your visit to Mexico.

Ciudad Juárez; I first laid eyes on it in 1976 hitchiking through El Paso, Texas. From the U.S. side it stands out like some mysterious world---a world I waited another 16 years to explore.

Memorial for The Disappeared Women of Juárez

My friend and co-worker Félix was my guide--he had all the connections: a part-time actor who moved freely through Juárez's vibrant day and night life: theater, peñas, protests, and other cultural events. The best thing about living eight years in El Paso--the time I spent in Juárez.

Now Juárez is passing through it's most difficult period since the Mexican Revolution--a "calvario," bearing a cross towards the edge of a cliff; a battlefield of the disastrous war on drugs.  Many who have the means have fled the city. But most remain, waiting, praying, and hoping that this nightmare will end.

Art and Protest Messages On The Mexican Side Beside The Seasonally Dry Rio Grande

I had grown cautious, not visiting Juárez in several years. But I couldn't forget an analogy an aquaintance in El Paso told me, long before this wave of violence, that compared border residents in the U.S. who were afraid to go to Mexico to the dog that urinates to mark its territory, but suddenly only marks a half circle, cutting out half its territory. I only ventured a  few blocks into Juárez last June-- the difference was striking. The tourist strip had no tourists. 

At a store in Arizona I mentioned to the cashier that I was heading to Juárez and he questioned my wisdom. I quoted Félix from my last visit that "life goes on," to which he responded, "for some." While Juárez is a special case due to the level of violence, most of Mexico is safe for tourists, but the perception is that it isn't. Even in Juárez tourists are not the targets of the violence. But the bad news keeps folks away as  media ratings rise when murders are the top stories. Fear is soundly beating reality.

After crossing the border I bought a newspaper with a front page headline about the previous day's carnage, "Sabado Negro: 13 Muertos, 8 en Multihomicidios." You had to go deep into the paper to find more positive stories, like a youth chess tournament.

This visit I planned to reclaim more of my old circle, venturing deeper into Júarez. It was a beautiful cool Sunday morning in April. My timing couldn't have been better--a mass of humanity was in the streets and plaza. Felix, who is working on a doctorate, once wrote a report after observing people in the plaza. He saw it as a form of resistance--refusing to surrender to fear and getting out of the house into the sunlight, enjoying companionship, feeding the pigeons, visiting the market--celebrating being alive.

Another article in the paper proved Felix's thesis--a murder on a soccer field in a Juárez neighborhood had kept folks away. Now they were back playing soccer.  

Images of Revolutionaries: Che Guevara, Sandino, Jose Martí, Fidel Castro, Pancho Villa, Camilo Cienfuegos, Emiliano Zapata

Juárez's main plaza, La Plaza de Armas

A Clown Entertaining Kids For Tips From Their Parents

Matachines dance group posing in front of the main cathedral

The Old Mission Church beside the Newer Cathedral

Mass In the Cathedral

One of Juárez's Oldest Restaurants: La Nueva Central Coffee Shop; A Favorite Stop of Mine

Street Vendors

My friend Felix giving me a lift 

The Old Mercado Cuauhtemoc near the cathedral; A great place to shop and eat

A Vendor with religous statues, including "Santa Muerte" which has become popular with some due to the violence

Announcing That The Circus Is In Town

After spending a few hours in Juárez I crossed the bridge and got in line to clear customs. I struck up a conversation with the man in front of me. He had grown up in Juárez and moved to El Paso after high school. He owned some rental properties in Juárez but due to the crisis they were mostly unoccupied and the few tenants rarely paid any rent. "Losing your money is good in a way," he said almost cracking a smile, "you're not likely to be kidnapped for ransom." Then he added before departing, "Maybe one day they'll legalize drugs, and things will turn around for the better."

Crossing The Bridge Back to El Paso

COMING UP: A Look Back At How The Residents Of Juárez Helped Stop Governor George W. Bush and the State of Texas From Placing a Nuclear Waste Dump On the Rio Grande